Guelph Politicast

Open Sources Guelph - January 4, 2018

Welcome to the start of the fourth year of Open Sources Guelph, and we're going to kick things off with a discussion of last year! Or, to be more precise, we're going to give out our annual awards in our annual awards special. For the last two years, we've taken the last show and handed out awards in four categories as we each saw them, and always resulting in eight winners. Of course, "winner" is relative in some of the categories, but to kick off 2018, we will give out the proverbial hardware in all your favourite categories.
This Thursday, January 4, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) Worst Politician of the Year.  "Hey!" you might be saying, "This one's going to be easy, this year," but you're forgetting that last year that we gave "45" the Lifetime Achievement Award for this category. Instead, we'll have to find other worthy candidates to be called the "worst", and fortunately (or unfortunately) there were a lot of people to choose from. In 2017, from another failed businessman-turned-politician to a failed judge-turned-failed senate candidate, the worst came frequently and thoroughly.
2) Good News Story of the Year. Why yes, there was some. We had to take a two-day retreat in order to do the in-depth research necessary in order to find the good news, but it was found in any event. For under the surface of constant scandal, and controversy, and obnoxious tweeting, we managed to find a couple of gold nuggets, from the avalanche of progressive candidates coming out to run in the U.S. to better news for people making the least possible salary.
3) "Dumpster-Wreck" of the Year. Because of recent events, we thought it would be prudent to rename this category this year, but the intent of it remains the same: a news story so heinous, vicious, or unbelievably stupid it stands out above all the rest. Like "Worst Politician" this is a tough one, but when you turn on your TV every night, or if you're a federal employee trying to get paid right or on time, then maybe the situation isn't so tough.
4) Best Politician of the Year. Oh  yes, there are some people out there doing good work, and to cap off 2017 we're going to recognize two of them because after the year we've had, we all need something good to focus on. This year, we're going to acknowledge the good work of the new opposition leader of the United Kingdom, and a mayor in a beleaguered American territory as two among the few politicians to break the odds, and do good work for the people.
5) Word to Retire. Following up on a new category we added last year, we will once again choose two words that should be permanently retired from our common political lexicon. One is an expression used far too often as a synonym for compromise, and the other is a phrase that's expanded beyond its original, very specific, media definition to become utterly meaningless.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - January 4, 2018

This first episode of End Credits for 2018 is going to look back at 2017. While it's true we've already awarded the Top 5 of 2017, there are some other accolades we'd like to consider for before moving on to the new year and new movies. Yes, it's time for the first annual End Credits Awards, which will feature winners in a quartet of unconventional categories.
This Thursday, January 4, at 10 am, Adam A. Donaldson, Vince Masson, Peter Salmon, and Candice Lepage will discuss:
1) The Anti-Canon. If "The Canon" is a movie that we should never forget and be a part of every cinephile's diet, then the Anti-Canon is a movie that should be forever removed from the collective consciousness of pop culture. Last week, we honoured the Best Movies of the Year, this week, we talk about the ones that we're trying to forget.
2) Most Improved. Life isn't binary. At the end of the year, we like to talk about what is best, and what is worst, but there's a lot of stuff in the mushy middle that, while not being remarkable, definitely shows improvement. Whether they're coming back from a bomb, or an unfortunate production disaster, these movies, and their makers, made 2017 a year of second chances.
3) Time to Retire. In so much as every filmmaker, or actor, or production gets a chance to improve, there comes a point when we all have to say that enough is enough. In spite of everything they've done, even past successes, there comes a moment when event the most stalwart actor, filmmaker or franchise has to call it a day.
4) Most Promising. In so much as this episode is about looking backwards, we also take a moment at the end to look forward. In so much as 2017 had some surprises and some things we'll treasure, we look toward 2018 with new eyes and some big expectations about what's coming next. Who's ready for another big year at the movies?
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Thursday at 10 am.

Open Sources Guelph - December 28, 2017

We've had a very busy revolving door this year on Open Sources Guelph. In 2017, we've had about 40 different people come through the studio or talk to us on the phone. We've hosted City Councillors, Members of Parliament, Members of Provincial Parliament, candidates for party leadership, party leaders, professors, and activists. So for our final show of the year, we've got two more guests: a well-known and topical Canadian comedian, and a well-known and popular host of syndicated radio show you hear every day on CFRU.
This Thursday, December 21, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Making new friends!
1) Ron the Road. Back in October, comedian Ron James performed two back-to-back shows at the River Run Centre here in Guelph, but different from other shows he's done in the Royal City, these ones were being taped as James' annual CBC New Year's Eve stand-up special, this year called The High Road. James will one again bring his everyman sensibility and tongue-twisty punchlines to the biggest news events of the year, but how does James manage to stay so topical when recording weeks in advanced in such a rapidly changing news environment? That's one of may questions that Adam had for James in their interview backstage at the River Run. Ron James: The High Road airs on CBC on Sunday December 31 at 9 pm and repeats January 4, 2018 at 8 pm.
2) Democracy Then! Also back in October, Scotty got to scratch a pretty big thing off the old bucket list when he interviewed Democracy Now! host Amy Goodman in front of a *yuge* crowd at Rozanski Hall at the University of Guelph. Goodman was on tour promoting her new book, Democracy Now!: Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America, and squeezed Guelph in as one of a number of Canadian stops in a hectic weekend. After talking about her show, covering the changing face of America, and her own brushes with the law while covering the story, Scotty asked Goodman about water rights issues, creating meaningful change in government, and the award-winning work she does on Democracy Now!
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - December 28, 2017

This week, with this being the last episode of End Credits of the Year 2017 and all, we do what all famous movie critics do at this time: make a list. The topic we've chosen, naturally, is the best films of 2017, and it was another great year of cinema if you know what to look for. So this week, we've got four lists, and while there's some overlap, but more than enough proof that in spite of everything, it was still a fun and interesting year at the movies.
This Thursday, December 28, at 10 am, Adam A. Donaldson, Vince Masson, Peter Salmon, and Candice Lepage will discuss:
1) The Top 5 of 2017. What a year at the movies! No, seriously. Of course, on the surface the North American movie industry is filled with superhero flicks, family-friendly cartoons, and remakes by the buttload, but there are also a lot of treasures too. This year, some of our winners include topical thrillers, strange dramas, romantic comedies that are touching and hilarious, and, yes, even a couple of superhero movies that were able to break the mold. To mark the last show of the year, each of our panelists have put together their own Top 5 list of the greatest hits of 2017.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Thursday at 10 am.

GUELPH POLITICAST #106 - Guelph's Crooked Media

Before we wrap up 2017, let's review the year that was at city council. That's 12 months of decisions and debates on all matters of local governance from big items like merging hydro, to smaller items like approving sign bylaw variances. To take this one on, I needed a team. A group of people that observe city hall as closely as I do. Let's assemble Guelph's Crooked Media.
For this final edition of the podcast for 2017, we are joined by Tony Saxon of Guelph Today, and Graeme McNaughton of the Guelph Mercury-Tribune. They are the city hall reporters for their respective publications, so I thought they would be fitting year end guests and invited them to bring their expertise on to the show this week as we discussed some the various intrigues that happened around the horseshoe this year.
Among those issues, obviously, is the recently approved Guelph Hydro merger with Alectra and the recently approved 2018 budget. The three of us also discuss the nature of covering city council, our issues with closed meetings, whether we - the media elite - are doing a good enough job covering city hall, what we look forward to in the coming double-election year, and what people might expect. It's a fast and furious podcast this week to keep you informed and entertained during this busy holiday season.
So let's catch up with the "enemies of the people" in the midst of a much needed holiday break on this week's Guelph Politicast. 
You can follow Tony Saxon's work every day on GuelphToday.com, or follow him on Twitter @SaxonontheStorm, and you can follow Graeme McNaughton twice a week in the Guelph Mercury Tribune, or online here, and on social media @iamgmcnaughton.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday's episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.

Open Sources Guelph - December 21, 2017

The holiday season begins this week, and you know what that means: the annual Open Sources Guelph Political Movies Special. Each year, we choose four politically-themed movies to highlight as potential viewing during the holiday break when regular politics mostly takes a few weeks off. This year, we've got quite a diverse crop: a zany comedy about Middle East peace starring Adam Sandler, a new documentary about the economy featuring the former U.S. Secretary of Labour, a racially-charged and themed horror film, and the latest film about the struggles of the U.K. working class from Ken Loach (guess who chose that one).
This Thursday, December 21, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
Our annual political movies special! Here are this year's selections...
Adam's Pick #1: Get Out (2017). "Chris and his girlfriend Rose go upstate to visit her parent's for the weekend. At first, Chris reads the family's overly accommodating behavior as nervous attempts to deal with their daughter's interracial relationship, but as the weekend progresses, a series of increasingly disturbing discoveries lead him to a truth that he never could have imagined."
Scotty's Pick #1: I, Daniel Blake (2016). "A 59-year-old carpenter recovering from a heart attack befriends a single mother and her two kids as they navigate their way through the impersonal, Kafkaesque benefits system. With equal amounts of humor, warmth and despair, the journey is heartfelt and emotional until the end."
Adam's Pick #2: You Don't Mess With the Zohan (2008). "Tired of all the fighting in his country, legendary Israeli commando Zohan fakes his own death and goes to New York, where he can fulfill his fondest dream: to become a hairstylist. Zohan's sexy way with a cut and curl makes him a hit with Manhattan's women, but when enemy Arabs spot him, Zohan has to call on his military skills if he is ever to wield scissors again."
Scotty's Pick #2: Saving Capitalism (2017). "Saving Capitalism is a documentary film that follows former Secretary of Labor and Professor, Robert Reich, as he takes his book and his views to the heart of conservative America to speak about our economic system and present big ideas for how to fix it."
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - December 21, 2017

This week on End Credits, it's the best time of the year: Star Wars time! On this episode we're going to review the brand new epic space opus Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and try to squeeze in some further Star Wars talk about how the new era under the mouse house has been going. Speaking of which, we'll discuss the downside of the studio merger everyone's excited about, and we'll talk about why the Golden Globes, as always, suck at picking the best movies.
This Thursday, December 21, at 10 am, Adam A. Donaldson and Candice Lepage will discuss:
1) Globe Frothier. The nominations for the Golden Globes were announced last week, and even by the standards of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, things were zany. Jordan Peele's Get Out, an effectively disturbing horror movie with broader themes and implications, got nominations in the comedy and musical category, while real comedies like The Big Sick, and Girls Trip were shut out. Meanwhile, Helen Mirren was nominated for a movie no one's heard of, and Christopher Plummer got a nod for replacing Kevin Spacey at the last minute for All the Money in World. Can these things get any weirder? Probably.
2) Fox and the Mouse. It finally happened. After weeks of speculation, it was announced that 21st Century Fox reached a deal to sell much of its entertainment assets to the Walt Disney while keeping its TV channels (like Fox) and newspapers (like The Wall Street Journal). The nerd news has mostly focused on the giddiness of having the X-Men and Fantastic Four back under the same roof with the rest of the Marvel Universe, but won't this stifle creativity? Will we get another Deadpool or Logan, for example? More than that, can six major studios going down to five be seen as anything less than a loss for creative freedom in Hollywood?
3) The 'Wars' So Far. Before digging into our review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, we'll look at the Disney-era of Star Wars so far. While The Force Awakens and Rogue One established a course for the franchise to remain profitable and fun for fans, there have been some issues behind the scenes with directors; Phil Lord and Chris Miller were fired shortly before production on the Han Solo movie was supposed to wrap, and J.J. Abrams has replaced Colin Trevorrow on Episode IX. So now, having seen The Last Jedi, how has Rian Johnson set a high bar for expectations, and how has been able to innovate narratively while staying on Disney's good side?
REVIEW: Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017). It's here! Since the end of The Force Awakens in 2015, Star Wars fans have been wondering and speculating just where the saga would go in this next chapter, and it's guaranteed that this was... not what they expected. Rian Johnson picks up where J.J. Abrams left off as Rey must try and shake Jedi Master Luke Skywalker from his complacency before time runs out for the Resistance as they run from the First Order who's out to eliminate them once and for all. Allegiances are tested, expectations are subverted, and you never know where the story is going from one moment to the next. As Luke said, "This is not going to go the way you think."
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Thursday at 10 am.

Open Sources Guelph - December 14, 2017

We're quickly approaching the end of the year and the holiday season here at Open Sources Guelph, and that means this will sadly be our last live show of 2017. We never thought we'd get to the end of 2017, but we did, and we're relieved. So before diving into our annual political movie picks and awards, we'll look at the recent election. No, not that election, the one that happened in Canada this week. We'll also talk about a new guaranteed income plan in Canada, the results of the Guelph City Council debate on the hydro merger, and the year in Guelph politics.
This Thursday, December 14, at 5 pm, Scotty Hertz and Adam A. Donaldson will discuss:
1) Fantastic Four. Alabama wasn't the only place in North America that had an election this week! There were four federal byelections in Canada on Monday, and while three ended up rather predictably with the incumbent party winning, the fourth in South Surrey–White Rock saw the seat belonging to Conservative Dianne Watts go to Liberal Gordie Hogg. This is the huge one because the number of Conservative seats in B.C. is now in the single digits, which means that that party may be losing some ground on the left coast, but is this an indictment on Andrew Scheer's leadership? And what of Jagmeet Singh's new era as the head of the NDP? We'll look at the vote and see if it tells us anything about the political landscape and the future electoral potential of Team Trudeau.
2) Quebec Gets Basic. Following in the path of other Canadian jurisdictions toying with a basic guaranteed income, the Province of Quebec is now crafting its own plan with a $3 billion endeavour to fight poverty and promote economic inclusion. It's estimated that 84,000 Quebecers will qualify for the program, which guarantees a minimum annual income of about $18,029 for those with mental and physical disabilities that might keep them from seeking and keeping active employment. Cool, right? Parti Québécois Leader Jean-Francois Lisée disagrees, and can you seriously tell me that those people will be able to get by on just over $18K per year? We'll talk about whether or not this plan will actually do anything to help people in real need.
3) Alectra Life. On Wednesday night, Guelph City Council gathered to hear and debate the merger of Guelph Hydro with Alectra Utilities, the "Voltron" combination of four other publicly-owned electricity providers in Ontario. So what happened? At the time of this writing, we have no idea, but we will debate the merits of whatever the decision will be on the show this week. Yes, Guelph Hydro might need to grow and expand in order to be more responsive to future change, but is the Alectra merger the way to do it? What about the lost jobs? What about the green technology research centre that is not going to make up for those jobs? And the process, was cramming this in before Christmas a smart move?
4) What a Year it Was. Coming up in the next couple of weeks, Open Sources will be doing the usual year-end specials, but to wrap up the "live" year, we will talk about the last 365 days in Guelph politics. Remember when a deputy chief administrative officer let a bunch of confidential emails just slip from city hall into the hands of a lawyer suing the City? Good times. How about the movement to get a new library main branch picking up again? How about council cutting internet voting for next year's municipal election? How about Liz Sandals not running in next year's provincial election? Electoral reform protests! Transit changes! And there are lights in the upper floor of the Petrie Building! We'll talk about Guelph's 2017 story.
Open Sources is live on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca at 5 pm on Thursday.

End Credits - December 14, 2017

This week's episode of End Credits will be tearing it up, not tearing it apart. You may be thinking that there's not much of a difference between those two things, but fans of The Room know one is very, very bad. On this episode of the show, we will review the movie based on the making of The Room, James Franco's The Disaster Artist, and we'll talk about some of the latest items from the world of movie news including real-life drama for a director, a trip to space for another, and 75 years of what is maybe the greatest film ever made.
This Thursday, December 14, at 10 am, Adam A. Donaldson with guest hosts Eliza Crosland and Mary Lalonde*** will discuss:
1) Life of Bryan. The #MeToo movement has taken a lot of people down in the last couple of months, but none should be less surprising then Bryan Singer. The X-Men and The Usual Suspects director had a rough week after being fired from the Freddie Mercury bio-pic Bohemian Rhapsody, which he was working on, and then being confronted of new allegations of sexual assault against another underage boy. Is Singer now the latest victim of the movement that recently won the Time Person of the Year honour? And what's next?
2) Quentin Trek. Even though Quentin Tarantino is presently working on a new film set against the backdrop of the Manson Family Murders in 1969 L.A., he's apparently got visions of taking off into the final frontier. Reports last week say that Tarantino is teaming up with J.J. Abrams and an assembled writers room to turn his bright idea into the next, great Trek movie, which has got a lot of people curious about what exactly a Quentin Tarantino Star Trek movie will look like. We'll talk about the odds, and what a Tarantino Star Trek might entail.
3) Everybody Comes Back to Rick's. Casablanca is turning 75 years old, but its venerated status as one of the best movies ever made was not always a lock. Behind the scenes hiccups from a drunken leading man to a dubious leading lady to a script that was being written on the fly in a one year window from green light to premiere day, all should have meant that Casablanca ended up a disaster, but we're still talking about it three-quarters of a century later. What is the ongoing appeal of Casablanca, and what does it tell us about filmmaking then and now?
REVIEW: The Disaster Artist (2017). Oh, hi Mark. In 2003, The Room was released for a two-week run at a singular L.A. movie theatre, but so famous was its awfulness that The Room embarked on a 15-year journey to infamy. That renown has now been translated into a bio-comedy called The Disaster Artist, which tells how a struggling young actor named Greg comes into the orbit of the enigmatic Tommy Wiseau, and the two begin a course that takes them to being the creative duo behind the "Citizen Kane of bad movies". James Franco stars, produces and directs this anatomy of a disaster that wasn't a complete loss after all.
***You can learn more about Eliza and Mary's work, and find links to the Savvy Spinster webseries, by clicking here.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Thursday at 10 am.

GUELPH POLITICAST #105 - Sarah Wilmer, Women's Community Development Co-ordinator, ARCH

Let's get the obvious out of the way: Yes, there are sex workers in Guelph. Any time the topic is bridged in the corporate media, it comes with this strain of shock that such a thing is happening in our own backyards. Of course it is. Perhaps that's why sex workers find themselves particularly vulnerable to violence. Hear no evil, see no evil, right?
One of the people working against that is Sarah Wilmer, the Women's Community Development Co-ordinator of HIV/AIDS Resources and Community Health. She's the point of contact for SWAG, the Sex Workers Ally Group Guelph/Wellington, who "engages community organizations, public agencies and individuals with lived experience in a collaborative effort to improve the systems and conditions that marginalize sex workers in Guelph and Wellington County."
SWAG tries to support sex workers by improving access to services for sex workers, working towards their better health and wellbeing, and, perhaps most importantly, reducing the stigma around sex work. It's this last point that is the timeliest around every December 17, which is the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers. Stigma, and the moral and legal grey area of sex work, makes sex workers all the more vulnerable to violence. The equation is simple, reduce the stigma, increase the access, and you make it possible for sex workers to be protected from the violence that's always in the back of their minds.
So this week on the podcast, we talk to Wilmer about her work with SWAG, what life looks like for sex workers in our area, SWAG's mission to end stigma and all the challenges there in, and how our perceptions of sex work will need to change before any real progress can be made on ending violence against sex workers. For me, this issue is linked to some of the thoughts I wrote down earlier this year about "The Upside Down" in Guelph, revealing more about the hidden corners in our city that need more light and understanding, and I hope it is revealing.
Let's talk about sex work on this week's Guelph Politicast.
To learn more about the Sex Workers Ally Group Guelph/Wellington, you can visit their Facebook page here. And to learn more about the services and outreach of HIV/AIDS Resources and Community Health, you can visit their website here. The International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers is Sunday December 17, but SWAG and ARCH will handing out red umbrella cookies in St. George's Square on Friday.
The theme music for the Guelph Politicast is from the KPM Klassics collection by Syd Dale.
The host for the Guelph Politicast is Podbean. Find more episodes of the Politicast here.
Remember that the Politicast Podbean channel is also the host for podcast versions of Open Sources Guelph. The previous Thursday's episode of Open Sources will be posted on Mondays.